Don’t Doubt – God Hears Our Prayers

Wife Up Wednesday
by Sharlene Hawkins

James 5:16  “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”  (New Living Translation)

Hebrews 11:6  “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”  (King James Version)

For months I have been consistently praying for my son in three specific areas:

1. A desire for a deeper relationship with God.
2. Diligence with completing his final year of college.
3. Proactively taking steps toward being more responsible in our home.

My prayer was that he would come to these realizations on his own, without George or me (okay, mainly me) nagging him.  Earlier this week, he came into our room and told us he had been thinking about changes he is making in his life:  eliminating distractions that prevent him from becoming closer to the Lord.  He also shared with us the call he believes God has on his life; he wants to be a responsible contributor to our family, and has a continued commitment to finishing his final year in school.  Finally, he asked if we would partner with him in prayer and be resources for him to talk through challenges or provide advice to help keep him on track.  I was literally speechless – all I could do was lift my hands in praise and then I looked at him and George and said, “I’m telling you both – God hears my prayers so you guys better stick with me.”  Of course they laughed at me and started with the jokes as they usually do – but they know.  Don’t mess with a praying wife and mother.

I will be honest though, I was initially shocked and did not immediately realize that these were the requests for which I had specifically been praying.  God said to me “Why are you surprised?”  Why?  Because sometimes when I pray, there is also a small part of me that doubts that God hears me and/or that he will answer my prayers.  And if I am not careful to combat doubtful thoughts with the Word, before I realize what’s happening, the devil will seize the opportunity to pounce on my weakness and speak lies that seep into my spirit and cause me to turn away and/or give up so I have to be diligent in meditating on the Word as my defense.

Sisters, whatever you are praying for, continue to believe in faith; speak the Word in prayer over your requests.  Our Father hears and will answer our prayers.